There's something about a big HD TV and digital surround sound that fills up a living room. Shooters, platformers, sports games, arcade classics and experimental indie games just feel bigger on a TV screen. It's how most of us grew up gaming.

But maybe people are missing out.

We get it – smartphones and tablets are getting all the new titles – they're "what's hot.” The console market is pushing developers away. We’ve seen a brain drain: some of the best, most creative gamemakers are focused on mobile and social games because those platforms are more developer-friendly. And the ones who remain focused on console games can’t be as creative as they’d like.

Deep down, you know your best gaming memories happened in the living room.

You busted your ass just to find out the princess was "in another castle." You fought bosses that told you repeatedly how much "you suck." You taped a blanket to half of your screen so your friend couldn't see where you were. You traded the best players onto your team just so you could have the perfect season. And you did it all on the TV.

It's time to upend console gaming.

Cracking open the last closed platform: the TV. A beautiful, affordable console -- built on Android, by the creator of Jambox. We've packed this little box full of power. Developers will have access to OUYA's open design so they can produce their games for the living room, taking advantage of everything the TV has to offer. Best of all, OUYA's world-class console, controller and interface come in one beautiful, inexpensive package.

Let’s open this sucker up! It's time we brought back innovation, experimentation, and creativity to the big screen. Let’s make the games less expensive to make, and less expensive to buy. With all our technological advancements, shouldn't costs be going down? Gaming could be cheaper!

We're handing the reins over to the developer with only one condition: at least some gameplay has to be free. We borrowed the free-to-play model from games like League of Legends, Team Fortress 2, Triple Town, and many others. Developers can offer a free demo with a full-game upgrade, in-game items or powers, or ask you to subscribe.

OUYA: The revolution will be televised

OUYA is a new game console for the TV, powered by Android.

We've packed this little box full of power. Developers will have access to OUYA's open design so they can produce their games for the living room, taking advantage of everything the TV has to offer.

Best of all, OUYA's world-class controller, console, and interface come in one beautiful, inexpensive package. All the games on it will be free, at least to try.

Great games come from great developers.

Developers can wave farewell to the roadblocks of bringing a console game to market. Anyone can make a game: every OUYA console is a dev kit. No need to purchase a license or an expensive SDK. It's built on Android, so developers already know how it works.

That doesn't mean OUYA is an Android port. You can create the next big title in your bedroom – just like the good old days! Who needs pants!?

"This has the potential to be the game developer’s console. It's about time!" -- Brian Fargo (founder of inXile)

“Who wouldn't want a beautiful piece of industrial design that sells for $99, plugs straight into your TV, and gives you access to a huge library of games?" – Jordan Mechner (creator of Prince of Persia, Karateka)

“If OUYA delivers on the promise of being the first true open gaming platform that gives indie developers access to the living room gaming market, yes that is a great idea. We will follow the development of OUYA and see how it resonates with gamers. I could see all current Mojang games go on the platform if there's a demand for it.” – Mojang (developer of Minecraft)

"I'm excited for OUYA! I am a firm believer that there is always room to challenge the status quo." -- Jenova Chen (thatgamecompany, creator of flOw, Cloud, and Flower)

"Our games will work so well on a TV, we just need an easy way to get them there. OUYA could be it." -- Marek Rabas (Madfinger Games)

"An open game console that gives independent game developers the flexibility to experiment with their games and business models on the TV, is something that's long overdue." – David Edery (Spry Fox, creator of Triple Town)

Design matters.

We believe a great console requires a great user experience. We are working with the award-winning designer, Yves Behar, and his firm fuseproject (designer of the Jambox).

We are designing the controller to be a love letter to console gaming. It will have everything you've learned to love: fast buttons, triggers, laser-precise analog sticks, a D-Pad – and it will have a touchpad for any games making the trek from mobile or tablet to the TV. It'll be just the right weight. We are working with select developers to play-test the controller through development. We call it 'the Stradivarius of controllers,' and we hope developers will be inspired to take gameplay to a new level with it.

Hackers welcome.

Have at it: It's easy to root (and rooting won't void your warranty). Everything opens with standard screws. Hardware hackers can create their own peripherals, and connect via USB or Bluetooth. You want our hardware design? Let us know. We might just give it to you. Surprise us!

Because OUYA is based on Android, any app developer could publish their Android app to OUYA. The possibilities are limitless, and conversations with potential partners are already underway. Here’s our first: do you like watching StarCraft, or League of Legends? Watch Twitch.TV on your OUYA.

UPDATE: Our Kickstarter campaign is over, but you can still get an OUYA. Head over to www.ouya.tv for more info and to place an order.

We just added game streaming through OnLive! Final Fantasy will be on OUYA...and we have an exclusive game! And VEVO has agreed to put their music videos on OUYA, XBMC adds a streaming media app, with TuneIn and iHeartRadio adding music!

We're honored by all of you who are backing us -- THANK YOU. We are focused on delivering for you, first come first served. We can only promise OUYA by March to our Kickstarter backers.

Still not sold on this, but it's an interesting thought. It just doesn't seem to be as innovative as it's trying to make out. And especially when their largest push on marketing is bringing gaming back to the TV - uhh.. what's stopping that now with every other platform? We'll see, it's nice to see something new trying to float the market, but it just doesn't strike me as that special.

The innovation comes from the fact that it's open source. Anyone can develop for it with minimal loops to jump through, a big complaint smaller dev teams have with XBLA & PSN.

This isn't going to do anything that you can't already do by connecting a PC to your HDTV, but the low cost ($100 US) and convenience of a dedicated open source media box for your TV may give it staying power.

Ouya raised over $8.5 million via Kickstarter, breaking Double Fine's record in the process. Time will tell if the investment pays off.

Personally, I'm optimistic, but I'll wait until after it releases before I consider buying one.

The real deciding factor for me personally is the software I can enjoy on the Ouya console. Minecraft is already supposed to be coming to it, but let's hope for some other big names to get games on it.

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I like my women how I like my coffee: ground up and in the freezer.

The doctors say his chances are 50/50... but there's only a 10% chance of that.

Exactly as you guys say, whether this is a success is based on who goes for it. Open source, to me, doesn't make it innovative since PCs have had that for so long now that it's stopped being a big deal. Though, I took a step back and looked at this again and I think my issue is I'm looking at it "wrong" - for someone who either doesn't have a PC or feels less comfortable gaming on it, it bridges the gap between PC and Console, removing the constraint of licenses that XBLA etc. will throw at you. I hope it's a success for that alone, but I can't see myself wanting one.

My biggest curiosity is how they deal with the ports that look like they'll appear from mobile/tablet games being used on it. Those games are created around a very specific resolution knowing that they can make a game look beautiful on modern smartphone screens or the iPad etc. but those won't instantly convert into beautiful looking games on a TV using something like this. Developers probably won't want to just create their games around the larger res. and cut them down for their mobile counterparts initially, but the overwhelming support this has through kickstarter might just get enough people signing on from the industry.

As I say, I'm still hopeful for the project!

...And the kickstarter conversation has reminded me of something I'll now post.

"We will be a part of any console launch in the future," GameStop CEO J. Paul Raines told Joystiq this morning, when asked about GameStop's interest in stocking theOuya console.

Though he was clear to note that the company did not have an official announcement regarding any potential plans to carry the Android console, Raines was positive about the device. "We think Ouya's cool. We love the idea of open-source components. Everything we've read is great."

Raines related the new console to the Google Nexus 7 tablet that GameStop sells - and that Raines turned on during our conversation in order to remember a game he wanted to talk about (It was Dead Trigger.) "Here's the exciting thing that's happening: if you look at the power of the processor like the Tegra 3 or the x86 stuff that's coming on Windows tablets, you've got a processor now and graphics capability that are really exciting," he said.

"There will be games developed for that stuff. So you're going to see more of these open source type products, and we will be right in the middle of all of it."

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[/url]You don't stop playing because you get old, you get old because you stop playing!!